Nepal

CAFOD started working in Nepal in 2015, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April devastated the country. Almost 8,000 people were killed, and around half a million homes were destroyed, along with thousands of schools, government buildings and health centres.

Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries, and did not have the infrastructure and resources to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. The public, and particularly the Catholic Community in England and Wales, reacted with overwhelming generosity.

CAFOD is working in Nepal in partnership with local organisations, as well as Caritas agencies from around the world, to help the hardest-hit families and communities recover after the earthquake:

We worked with local partners to respond quickly to distribute food, shelter kits and emergency supplies to hundreds of thousands of families in the first few months following the earthquake.

We are repairing water systems damaged by the earthquake, to provide water that is needed for drinking, irrigation and rebuilding.

We are supporting families who have been displaced from their villages by landslides, and helping local farmers and craftspeople to rebuild their livelihoods after their seeds, tools and livestock were lost.

We are training local masons and carpenters in earthquake-resilient construction techniques, and teaching communities how to make their new houses stronger. And as we rebuild schools, we are supporting teachers, school management and pupils to create plans to respond to future disasters.

"At that point, we had nothing. The support we received was so important. We used the grant to buy clothes for the family, and also food – two sacks of rice, oil, salt, spices and a little meat.”

Lila, whose home was destroyed when the first earthquake struck Nepal on 25 April 2015.